1. Field of the Present Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to equestrian stirrups and particularly to a stirrup that affords a more comfortable position for the rider's foot.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Martin, US Des. 411667; Bostock, Des. 429389 and Rabeck, Des. 318930 each discloses a design for a stirrup. Vollmecke et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,230 discloses a stirrup having a crossbar that supports a rider's shoe in riding. The stirrup further has an upper portion that is provided with a fastener for a carrying belt of the stirrup. The stirrup also has a damping body, which is arranged on the stirrup between the crossbar and the rider's shoe. Lelievre, U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,291, discloses a stirrup for horseback riding formed by two branches connected to the ends of a bearing support (tread) for the foot of the rider mounted pivotable about an axis connecting the two branches, characterized in that the bearing support (3) is also mounted with a possibility of vertical or substantially vertical movement relative to the branches (2) of the stirrup (1). The stirrup can be used in the field of horseback riding, in particular for facilitating teaching or practice of horseback riding. Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,149 discloses a stainless steel stirrup with a rotatable foot plate pivotally connected to the lower ends of the stirrup limbs and including means for restricting the forward rotation of the stirrup to a substantially horizontal position with respect to the stirrup limbs but allowing the stirrup to rotate freely in a backward direction through a range of approximately 90. degree. Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,409 discloses a riding stirrup (10) including a hanger rod (11) for connecting the stirrup to a saddle, and a stirrup loop (12) connected to the hanger rod. The stirrup loop (12) defines a stirrup opening (14) through which a rider may extend their foot when the rider is sitting in the saddle. The stirrup loop (12) also includes an elongated base support tread (17) positioned generally at the bottom of the loop. The base support tread (17) extends at a slant with respect to a stirrup centerline (CL) which extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the hanger rod (11), through a midpoint of the rod, and through the base support tread. This slant places the distance between an outer tread section (21) and the hanger rod (11) greater than the distance between an inner tread section (20) and the hanger rod.
Our prior art search with abstracts described above teaches a variety of equestrian stirrups; i.e., various designs and different structures. However, the prior art fails to teach a stirrup that is able to be supported in stirrup leathers at a more natural angle so that the riders' ankle does not tire easily. The present disclosure distinguishes over the prior art providing heretofore unknown advantages as described in the following summary.